Thursday, January 11, 2007

Archi-nnections

....Because J-Wu already named his post archinect'ed, ok? Seriously, though, when a link comes in from Archinect it means a lot, being one of my favorite sites for news, projects, and a great discussion forum, free of construction industry cruft and precipitous product pimpage (unlike these guys, who also happened to post about SL this week with a well-deserved introduction to the work of Tab Scott).

In Architecture's Second Life the reader is presented with an in depth analysis of the topic, including a brilliant interview with Tor Lindstrand, a.k.a. Kapital Metropolitan, with whom I've also had the pleasure of meeting last year when covering the final crits for LOL Architect's 2006 studio with a review of Vava Vavoom's 'Little Sweden' project.

Of course the article introduces the well worn debate of design conservatism in a virtual world where anything is possible (ignoring things like prim budgets, flicker, and z-fighting presumably), however Tor steers clear of any assertions that his work or theories represent any sort of polemic against the status quo rather suggesting that we take a much broader perspective, beyond even the distinction that is often made between the real and virtual, where spatial experience is of primary importance.

Some of his students may be thinking otherwise, however. Raplaa Lazarno's '3D Graffiti' project daringly explores the line between architecture and griefer build as he rumbles with castles, log cabins, and the infamous low prim beach house.

Thanks for stopping by, Archinect readers. Feel free to peruse the archives and join the conversation as we continue to explore the architecture of Second Life.